Updated 03/06/2009 11:52 PM
Closing Arguments Heard In Trial Against Queens Doctor
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Summations were made by the defense Friday in the trial of a doctor accused of arranging her ex-husband's death.
On Thursday, Dr. Mazoltuv Borukhova testified that she did not see or hear anything when her ex-husband, orthodontist Daniel Malakov, was shot 10 feet away from her in a playground in Forest Hills, Queens in October 2007.
To make his case against her, the prosecutor in the case slammed his hand down on the railing of the jury box, and asked if she heard the sound. She replied that she did.
Malakov was gunned down while handing over to Borukhova their child for a supervised visit.
Investigators say Borukhova paid her uncle, Mikhail Mallayev, to kill Malakov.
"She is a professional liar," said Malakov's father, Khaika Malakov. "She has an ice heart."
"She was 10 feet down there. I don't know. People should think about that. How she didn't hear. How she didn't know," said Malakov's mother. "It's terrible. I don't know."
Borukhova’s attorney, Stephen Scaring, said the prosecution’s case was “rotten to the core” and was built on circumstantial evidence. He also said he did not want the jury to judge her by not being shocked “like Mary Poppins.”
“Now, we’re looking for a far shake, and we’re looking for the jury to give this case the kind of scrutiny that it deserves,” said Scaring. “We’re pretty confident if we do that, we will get the right verdict.”
Mallayev's defense wrapped up its case Thursday without Mallayev taking the stand.
Michael Siff, Mallayev’s attorney, told the jury that his client’s “silence is not proof of guilt,” and said that a prosecution witnesses placed Mallayev’s fingerprints on the homemade silencer used in the killing.
“We felt that the case that they made was weak with regards to the fact that there were prints and there was no need to call the fingerprints expert,” said Siff. “I studied the fingerprints to eight months on this case – I believe I’m a bit of an expert.”
The prosecutor will deliver his arguments on Monday and the jury could start deliberating early next week.
Both Borukhova and Mallayev are charged with murder and conspiracy and face life in prison without parole.